As with most sharks the main form of perception is visual. Sharks in general tend to have good eyesight especially in dim light. The eyes are large and oval in shape. The large eyes are particularly useful to the whitetip because it is a nocturnal animal that does most of its hunting and traveling at night.

Like other sharks, they have very strong chemosensory systems as well. This is most useful to the whitetip reef sharks in hunting and eating.

Whitetip reef sharks respond to sounds in the water. They are believed to be attracted to the sounds of spearfishing in the water.

Like other sharks, this species also has electroreceptive abilities to help them detect prey.

Very little is known about the communication of these sharks with each other. It is known that they do share caves, and occasionally hunt together, however the way in which they communicate isn’t fully understood. One case in which the communication is obvious is in mating where there is a clear tactile communication in the act of the male biting the fins of the female.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical ; electric